I'm Sioux Roslawski and this is my blog about writing, dogs, grown-up children, menopause, the joy of a marvelous book, classroom teaching in general, and specifically, the teaching of writing. You can email me at sroslawski(at)yahoo(dot)com.

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Thursday, March 31, 2011

If You Open Your Mouth, It Will Go

Okay, so I failed to pull off a smooth connection to movie Field of Dreams.Sorry. I'm just recovering from a late night (see the later note from the Procrastination Princess) of writing and revising, followed by an evening school event where I had to--please take an anti-anxiety pill now--sing (along with my students).

( The stray dogs that were running, full-speed, through your neighborhood, a frantic expression on their faces, their ears looking like they had been torched just a bit...Yes, all the dogs in the St. Louis area have been suffering tonight because of my caterwauling!)

photo by brendan adamson

A week or so ago, I had lunch with a writer friend. During the conversation, I mentioned I was mentally doing some prewriting on a couple of patriotic submissions for Silver Boomer Books. One was about my dad's experience in the Marines. The other was going to be more difficult. A distant but dear cousin of mine is Ukranian; he spent part of his childhood in a concentration camp. There is no one who loves America more than Serhij. Unfortunately, he never talks about that part of his life...

The deadline was yesterday. Since I put everything off until the last possible minute, I was writing earlier this week, but the story was slow in coming. Serhij was unwilling to answer any questions, and although that meant I was only writing one story, my dad's tale did not feel as "inspired." I was tempted to just chuck it.

However, I had opened my mouth and said I was doing some prewriting in my head. If I didn't even bother to follow through, if I simply let the submission opportunity fall by the wayside, would I feel very writerly?

I found that as I continued to push through, I discovered a connecting thread that could hold my story together. I crafted a beginning that I was satisfied with, along with a decent ending.

So, when you're on the fence, open your mouth. Bring it into the realm of reality by saying it aloud. And sendyour story where it needs to go...

You worked at it and pulled it through--that's great! I've read several times now, by well-known authors, that writing is all about just doing it, even when you think you might not be able to pull it off. No worries about being writerly...you are! The writer in you took over and made the connections. The Sioux in you didn't give up. :D Good luck with your submission! I'm sure your story will find its perfect home.